| Honda to Import Thai-manufactured Water Pump for Sale in Japan |
| Tokyo, February 19, 2003 --- Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that it will be importing the WB20XT engine-powered water pump manufactured by its power equipment manufacturing center in Thailand, Thai Honda Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Bangkok; President: Kiyoji Takekabu), for sale in Japan. Sales will commence on February 20th at designated Honda power equipment dealers throughout Japan. In November 2002 Thai Honda expanded its general-purpose engine production capacity from 400,000 to 1,000,000 units, with plans to supply general-purpose engines to regions around the world, excluding Japan. Thai Honda has manufactured a total of 567,000* pumps equipped with general-purpose engines since it first started production in 1989, destined mainly for regions in Asia and the Middle East. Export of the WB20XT to Europe began last year and export to North America will follow. *As of end of December 2002. Honda in-house survey. Based on the concept, "Made by Global Honda", Honda selects the optimum locations for procurement and manufacture of products for worldwide distribution. This has resulted in the import and sale on the Japanese market of such power products as generators made in China and India, and lawnmowers manufactured in France. The water pump comes equipped with the GX120 engine, a Honda e-SPEC engine that meets the world's highest standards in environmental performance, including US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Phase II regulations. A version of the pump specially built for the home center market will also go on sale in March at designated home centers.
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